Bike lost power...oil all over the place

[DYNO]

Crap, Crap, Crap!!!!

I took the same route I did when this first happened and the problem cropped up at the same spot along my travels.

A buddy suggested I try replacing the lines in case they are cracked or leaking. Possible...seeing as how I had to replace all the fuel lines because they were brittle.

I just don't know. I bleed the line after the long ride while everything was still hot...got more bubbles.

Is there a difference between Dot 3 and Dot 4 brake fluid? Enough so that it might cause problems like I am experiencing?

[txrc51fatboy]

dot 3 and 4 are interchangeable. DONT USE DOT 5. you can use dot 5.1
Air in you line is not your problem
sounds like your clutch might be toast, when you clutch is cold you will still have some friction as it warms up no clutch.
replace clutch and i bet you problem is solved

[Bueller]

If you use the vacuum pump it will suck air it past the bleeder screw when the vacuum gets great enough, giving the illusion that you are getting air out of the system. I bled the crap out of my front brake on my KTM 300 with the pump and could never get it completely right until I did the gravity bleed. Still skeptical about the air thing, but if you are boiling the fluid it would expand, check routing of line move it away from and heat sources and use a quality fluid with a high boiling point.

[DYNO]

dot 3 and 4 are interchangeable. DONT USE DOT 5. you can use dot 5.1
Air in you line is not your problem
sounds like your clutch might be toast, when you clutch is cold you will still have some friction as it warms up no clutch.
replace clutch and i bet you problem is solved

I just replaced the plates.

[txrc51fatboy]

stupid questioni i know, dont take it wrong. are they in correctly? did you replace all the plates ie metal and fiber?

[Priller_Nate]

Try switching to some Motul RBF 600 racing brake fluid. It has a much higher boling point that what is available at Autozone, Pepboys, etc. It is pricey though but if your not bleeding every 2 days or so then might be worth it.

[DYNO]

stupid questioni i know, dont take it wrong. are they in correctly? did you replace all the plates ie metal and fiber?

Hey, that was my first thought when I did it. LOL!!!

I did it correctly, used some OEM plates/spacers/

I found an eBay ad that had a run down on how to tell if your clutch is toast...positive on alle three.

1. Clutch slips under heavy load. This is the most common clutch problem and easily fixed with our kit. You simply put the bike in 2nd gear, travel at 30MPH and give it a handful off throttle. Do the RPMs jump with no increase in acceleration? The fibers are worn down and need to be replaced.
2. The springs are old. This is actually a combination of bad METAL plates and bad springs. How to test? Fully adjust out the clutch lever so there is no slack. PULL IN THE CLUTCH LEVER. APPLY the front brake. With the bike in first gear, tap the starter button (do not start the bike) Did the bike lurch forward at all? Bad springs
3. Contaminated oil. This only applies to wet-clutch bikes, and there is nothing you can do except change the oil and replace the clutch. Make sure to use a high-quality motor oil, synthetic, synthetic blend or standard dino-oil are all fine with Barnett, but use the oil that the manufacturer suggests for your bike. Of the three clutch failures, this is the worst. It could cause the clutch basket to wear prematurely and sieze the motor at high RPM.

#3: When I first got the bike and drained the oil, it was nasty black and smelled like it was burnt. Went along with the POs thoughts on the clutch being "burnt up".

Been reading up on slipper clutches and will probably order a kit to go full slipper clutch and hopefully fix this problem.

There is a Barnett kit on eBay for $105...includes plates, spacers, springs...good deal or not?

[Lomax]

I want to throw a suggestion in here as I just finished dealing with it. Make Sure that you have some freeplay on the clutch lever. If for some reason the master cylinder is not returning all the way, it can trap fluid. As this heats up, Like in about 30 miles, it will expand and let the clutch slip.

Just a thought.

Marc

[DYNO]

Foud this on ZX7 World:

"Your suppose to use a dial indicator to measure how much Free play you have using a spare transmision shaft mounted in a vise. Reality is who is going to do this?? Kawasaki provides for three different thicknesses of the steel plates. Therefore aftermarket clutch suppliers do not know what you need for your specific application. The easiest way to get around this is to use 5 2.3 steel plates and 2 2.0 steel plates. Forget the 2.6 steel plates. This setup provides for the best feel and brings the back tourqe limiter closer to racing apllications on downshiffting as well. The steel plates if you feel the edge of them with your finger will have one distinctively sharp edge and one smooth edge. Install them all in the same direction, though it doesnt matter wich way. This info is not in the shop manual,but is very important. Purchase a set of Barnett heavy duty clutch springs but only use three of them staggered every other one with a stock spring. This will increase your clutchs capacity without making the lever pull to hard. The stock clutch frcition plates work as well as aftermarket but are more pricey. When installing the friction plates the shop manual calls for aligning the last plates tangs offset from all the others. DO NOT DO THIS.
The overall thickness of the combined steel and friction plates will be less and the last friction plate will not be able to apply correct pressure to the stack. This is very important. Make sure you get the correct bolts back in the original holes when reinsatlling the cover as some are different lenghts and be carefull not to over tourqe as I have seen many stripped clutch cover bolts.Also you can reuse stock friction plates even if they are very discolored as long as they are not (WARPED). The discoloration can be cleaned off with scotchbrite and you can check for warp by placing them on a flate piece of glass, but i would just buy all new ones and get the 2.3s and 2.0s. HAVE FUN!"

I am thinking I will follow this guide, redo the clutch pack and see what happens.

I DID offset the last plate per the manual and as far as I recall I did line the steel plates all with the smooth edge out.

I plan on tearing in to the clutch this weekend if I can get plates shipped out or find them locally.

Anyone want to come watch, help, point and laugh?

[DYNO]

Well yesterday I replaced the steels, the frictions, the springs and even the bolts.

Took it out today and rode about 60 miles and everythng seems fine now. The last 4 fritction plates and the last 3 steels were BURNT!!! As in they were black, you could see the burn marks. Not sure if they were sticking or what.

Also, the bike now runs a good bit cooler. After an hour of riding the gauge never got up to where it was before (midline of the gauge).

No clue, but it works now and I am pretty dang hapy with myself

Thank you guys for all the help on this!!!